WINE OF THE WEEK: Domaine Frédéric Lambert Côtes du Jura Chardonnay 2024, Jura, France

£23.99, House of Townend

Even if you think you don’t need another Chardonnay, trust me, you need Domaine Frédéric Lambert Côtes du Jura Chardonnay 2024. It’s different and it’s lovely.

It comes from the Jura, the small, chilly, hilly region in the east of France between Burgundy and Switzerland, and it’s made and aged in a traditional way, spending nine months in oak barrels under a veil (or voile) of flor yeast.

That doesn’t mean it tastes old-fashioned or like sherry or the Jura’s own long-lived sherry-like vin jaune. It’s more like a good white Burgundy, but really it’s in a pale, bright world of its own, with layers of honey, walnut, buttered toast, tangy fresh lemon and salty preserved lemon wrapped in a rich, smooth texture and signed off with lingering citrus zing.

Frédéric Lambert started his estate in 1993 and has since been joined by his son Romain. They have seven vineyard parcels, five of them in the prestigious Toulouse Le Château area, and they focus on low yields, working the land with respect for the environment, treating the vines only when absolutely necessary and using grass cover-crops as far as possible.

This is not a white wine to serve too cold. If you drink it straight out of a fridge at 5ºC, it will be numb and dumb – a waste of good wine – so let it warm up a bit, either in the bottle or your glass: 12–14ºC is about right.

Then pair it with the best of roast chickens with butter, lemon, garlic and thyme, or dishes such as chicken with morel cream sauce, porcini risotto, creamy fish or lobster pie, macaroni cheese or crab mac ’n’ cheese, or hard cheeses, especially sheep’s cheese such as Ossau Iraty or Parmigiano Reggiano. 13.5%

Domaine Frédéric Lambert Côtes du Jura Chardonnay 2024, Jura, France

£23.99, House of Townend, £25.95, South Downs Cellars

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